The Shores Advisory Committee has agreed to delay their survey until the City Hall poll is conducted but is still taking input at their monthly meetings, and their consultant is currently interviewing community interest groups. Del Mar resident Joe Curtis took advantage of the monthly meeting to ask that his group – parents with young children – be added to the list of groups helping to identify what uses to include in the Shores Park Master Plan. The Committee and the consultant agreed and the group was added to the January-February interview schedule.

The Committee meets monthly at 8 a.m. on the second Wednesday in the City Hall Annex and Committee members welcome visitors and input. The eight are responsible for overseeing a process to make sure as many residents as possible are included in developing a Park Master Plan for the city property at Ninth and Stratford. The 5.3 acre site currently includes the Winston School and the Community Building with offices for the Del Mar Foundation and Del Mar Community Connections. The School has a long term lease with the City and works collaboratively with the Committee in the Master Plan process.

Consultant Schmidt Design Group, well known in the San Diego area for its park designs – think Solana Beach Coastal Rail Trail – also met with the Committee to go over the survey questionnaire that will now be launched in March. According to staffer Kristen Crane, invitations to take the survey online will be mailed to all registered voters with an access code, followed by a phone call survey to voters who do not respond within the first week. But you don’t have to wait for the survey to get in the mood; go to www.engagedelmar.com, the City’s new online community “engagement tool,” developed by MindMixer, to begin communicating with the City and other residents on the future of Del Mar. And coincidentally the second question is “What Is Your Favorite Park in Del Mar or elsewhere?” Pictured as “listening” along with Administrative Services Manager Andrew Potter is Kristen Crane, confirming the eight members of the Advisory Committee are also listening along with Committee Council liaisons Sherryl Parks and Terry Sinnott. Go to www.delmar.ca.us/shorespark to get more information and sign up for ongoing Shores Advisory Committee notices.